A couple from Nottingham who won £10,000 for 30 years in the National Lottery have revealed what they are doing with their money. Laura Hoyle, 40, and Kirk Stevens, 38, say they are "so chilled" about their future having won the 'Set for Life' prize.
During a phone call to Camelot, which runs the lottery, Laura can be heard saying: "I'm just checking that's right before I, um, quit my job". The pair matched all five main numbers plus the Life Ball to win the top prize of £10,000 every month for 30 years in a draw on March 1 last year.
One year on they have spoken about what they have been doing with their winnings. Laura says she has given up work while manufacturing engineer Kirk has paid for his Masters degree.
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They have also just bought a house and the winnings have enabled them to continue their passion for ghost hunting. Their winnings, they say, helped them visit the National Justice Museum in the city out of hours to conduct some paranormal investigations.
“It still hasn’t really sunk in," Laura says. "I say that, yet I immediately quit my job and I’m doing stuff I normally wouldn’t have been able to do. I guess it’s all still surreal.
“I am so chilled about everything now, very relaxed and that is what the win has done for me. We are moving into a new house this month and it’s so stress free because I don't work now. We’ve been fortunate during Covid to go away, and once Kirk has finished his Masters degree in the Summer we are off to Disneyland Paris and lots of other exciting places.
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"Kirk and I are participating in lots more paranormal activities and I’m editing the videos we take which I absolutely love doing. I’m getting better and better at editing and the other month one of our videos was voted by a top ghost hunting YouTuber, one of his videos of the week. It’s as if I’m getting paid to video edit, for the next 30 years."
Kirk added: "I’m in my last year of my Masters degree in mechanical engineering. It’s been really hard at times to distance learn during Covid and it’s an expensive qualification and before the win I did, at times, question the investment.
"As Laura said, the win has enabled us to relax about bills. I have used the winnings to pay for the course. I want to continue working and progress which was the reason for the Masters.”
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By the end of the evening after Camelot confirmed they had won the couple had finished off four bottles of Prosecco, they said. They began playing in 2019 and won with the numbers 9, 14, 19, 35, 37 and 6 (the Life Ball).
Andy Carter, Senior Winners’ Advisor at The National Lottery, added: “I’ve seen every type of emotion when delivering the big news. Tears, laughter, screaming, absolute silence and total disbelief - just like Laura’s reaction."
